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Enzymes involved in the manipulation of polyethylene degradation: oxidative attack by invertebrates, microorganisms and algae on microplastics
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A large-scale analysis of over 2,900 published studies on polyethylene biodegradation identified three major gaps holding the field back: fewer than 7% of studies report the enzyme kinetics needed to compare results, most research fixates on a single bacterial genus while ignoring more effective fungi, and the potentially toxic breakdown products of plastic degradation are rarely measured. The authors propose a structured framework to guide future research toward scalable, safe biodegradation solutions.
Research into polyethylene (PE) biodegradation has generated thousands of organism-level studies, yet no scalable, field-ready technology has emerged. By analysing 2931 bibliometric records alongside enzyme kinetics and ecotoxicology data, we identify three overlooked limitations. First, a reproducibility deficit, with fewer than 7% of studies reporting kinetic constants. Second, a taxonomic echo-chamber, with 65% of bacterial studies focusing on Pseudomonas despite fungi achieving consistently greater mass loss. Third, potential risks are underexplored, as oligomeric by-products are rarely quantified despite already reaching toxic thresholds in aquatic systems. To move beyond species-and-enzyme catalogs, we propose a five-layer 'PE-degradation cube' that quantitatively links abiotic priming, enzyme kinetics, trophic relay, reproducibility weight and by-product risk. The model pinpoints laccase-mediator systems and insect-gut consortia as the only dual-validated (bibliometrically hot and biologically efficient) pipelines ready for protein-engineering translation, offering a data-driven roadmap that previous reviews have not provided.
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A systematic review of 145 studies identified the bacteria known to break down synthetic plastics, finding most belong to just a few bacterial groups and nearly half of studies focused on polyethylene. The review calls for standardized methods and more rigorous research to develop practical plastic biodegradation technologies.
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Plastic biodegradation: Frontline microbes and their enzymes
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Researchers reviewed microbial biodegradation of synthetic plastics — including PE, PP, PS, and PET — cataloguing the insects, bacteria, and fungi capable of breaking down these polymers along with the enzymatic mechanisms involved, and outlining paths forward including metabolic pathway engineering and molecular cloning to improve degradation rates.
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This review examines the challenges of biodegrading polyolefins — the most widely used plastics — highlighting the limited number of known degrading enzymes, their poor efficiency, and incomplete understanding of their catalytic mechanisms, with incomplete degradation itself producing microplastics. The review argues that multienzyme systems and better mechanistic understanding are needed before biological polyolefin degradation can become a practical waste management tool.
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